Them or Us by David Moody

Title: Them or Us (Hater #3)

Author: David Moody

Publisher: Thomas Dunne 2011

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 368

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie

How I Got It: Library Loan

The war that has torn the human race apart is finally nearing its end. With most towns and cities now uninhabitable, and with the country in the grip of a savage nuclear winter, both Hater and Unchanged alike struggle to survive.
Hundreds of Hater fighters have settled on the East Coast in the abandoned remains of a relatively undamaged town under the command of Hinchcliffe---who’ll stop at nothing to eradicate the last few Unchanged and consolidate his position at the top of this new world order. This fledgling society is harsh and unforgiving---your place in the ranks is decided by how long and how hard you’re prepared to fight.
Danny McCoyne is the exception to the rule. His ability to hold the Hate and to use it to hunt out the remaining Unchanged has given him a unique position in Hinchcliffe’s army of fighters. As the enemy’s numbers reduce, so the pressure on McCoyne increases, until he finds himself at the very center of a pivotal confrontation, the outcome of which will have repercussions on the future of everyone who is left alive.

Great ending, but to be honest, I was pretty bored in the middle. How many times can I say that this series just isn't as good as Autumn? It just isn't. I was so confused for most of the book. Should I connect with Danny or with the scattered unchanged or with no one. I was horrified with most of the actions of the people in the book. It's definitely a scary possible future. One I really don't want to live at all.

Hater trilogy

Dog Blood by David Moody

Title: Dog Blood (Hater #2)

Author: David Moody

Publisher: Thomas Dunne 2010

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 336

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie

How I Got It: Library Loan

The Earth has been torn into two parts by an irreversible division. Whether due to nature, or the unknown depths of the mind itself, everyone is now either Human or Hater. Victim or killer. Governments have fallen, command structures have collapsed, and relationships have crumbled. Major cities have become refugee camps where human survivors cower together in fear. Amidst this indiscriminate carnage, Danny McCoyne is on a mission to find his daughter Ellis, convinced that her shared Hater condition means her allegiance is to people like him. Free of inhibitions, unrestricted by memories of peace, and driven by instinct, children are pure Haters, and may well define the future of the Hater race. But, as McCoyne makes his way into the heart of human territory, an incident on the battlefield sets in place an unexpected chain of events, forcing him to question everything he believes he knows about the new order that has arisen, and the dynamic of the Hate itself.

The second book in the Hater trilogy leaves us on a horrid cliffhanger. To be honest, I started to lose interest about halfway through, but kept at it. And thank good I did. It really got moving with twists and turns and huge actions. Moody definitely knows how to write horror. I was terrified throughout most of the book. But I must say that I still don't like this series as much as the Autumn series. This is more disjointed. I found myself connecting with the Haters, but then I had to take a step back and reevaluate. Should I empathize with the Haters or the Unchanged? I felt conflicted through most of the book. I still don't know. And maybe that's the genius of this series. I grabbed Them or Us from the library so I can finish this series.

Hater trilogy

Hater by David Moody

Title: Hater (Hater #1)

Author: David Moody

Publisher: St. Martin's Press 2006

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 281

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie

How I Got It: Library Loan

REMAIN CALM DO NOT PANIC TAKE SHELTER WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL Society is rocked by a sudden increase in the number of violent assaults on individuals. Christened 'Haters' by the media, the attackers strike without warning, killing all who cross their path. The assaults are brutal, remorseless and extreme: within seconds, normally rational, self-controlled people become frenzied, vicious killers. There are no apparent links as a hundred random attacks become a thousand, then hundreds of thousands. Everyone, irrespective of gender, age, race or any other difference, has the potential to become a victim - or a Hater. People are afraid to go to work, afraid to leave their homes and, increasingly, afraid that at any moment their friends, even their closest family, could turn on them with ultra violent intent. Waking up each morning, no matter how well defended, everyone must now consider the fact that by the end of the day, they might be dead. Or perhaps worse, become a killer themselves. As the status quo shifts, ATTACK FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER becomes the order of the day... only, the answers might be much different than what you expect....

I previously read Moody's Autumn series and adored it. I had wanted to check out the Hater trilogy for awhile. Thankfully, I grabbed the first two books up from the library. While this one doesn't live up to Autumn, I did enjoy this unconventional zombie novel. I was unsure of where this was going at first, but I definitely loved the turn of events. I loved the interspersed vignettes of other "Haters." It added to the story beyond Danny's own journey. And what a cliffhanger... My goodness I am on the edge of my seat wanting to know. Thank goodness I have the second book, Dog Blood.

Hater trilogy

Autumn: Disintegration by David Moody

Title: Autumn: Disintegration (#4)

Author: David Moody

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 2011

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 342

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; Read Your Name - A; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library loan

Forty days have passed since the world died. Billions of corpses walk the Earth. Everything is disintegrating. . . .
A group of eleven men and women have survived against the odds. On an almost daily basis, they attack the dead with brutal ferocity, tearing through them with utter contempt.
Somewhere nearby, out of sight and out of earshot, is another group that has adopted a completely different survival strategy. Where the others have used brutality and strength, these people have demonstrated subtlety, planning, and tactics.
A series of horrific events force the two groups together. Backed into a corner and surrounded by hundreds of thousands of corpses, they all know that their final battle with the dead is about to begin.

I was on the edge of my seat for this entire book... I just couldn't wait to find out what happens to the survivors. After Purification, I was unsure of where Moody was going to take the story. The way the book ended, it didn't leave much room for continuation on the same frantic level as previously. Thankfully Moody found a great way to continue the main storyline by introducing some new groups. I didn't love these characters as much as the first ones, but they were interesting. I sped through the book, reading straight through lunch times to finish the story. And now I hear there's a rumored 5th book out there somewhere. I must find and devour!

Autumn:

Autumn
The City
Purification
The Human Condition
Disintegration
Aftermath

Autumn: The City by David Moody

Title: Autumn: The City

Author: David Moody

Publisher:

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 330

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library

The sequel to Moody's Autumn doesn't fail to live up to the first one. This volume happens during the same time period as the first, but focuses on a group of people in the city. We don't get a mention of what city, but that doesn't really matter. All we need to know is it's a city somewhere in England. And that works just fine throughout the book. We're focused more on the survival of the characters than the setting. Once again, the zombies are more of an ever-present threat than the focus. This time they're even more present, constantly just outside the university buildings.

There was a wide range of characters unlike just the few we met in the first one. My favorite was definitely Cooper, the soldier tucked away in a bunker until after the event and then left in the outside world. He had the biggest learning curve of all the survivors, not being present during the event. We see the event fresh through his eyes. I loved his matter-of-fact approach to the threats and his clear thinking. He sounds like someone I could have gotten along with. I also enjoyed Donna, the no-nonsense office worker. Her strength grew as the book enfolded. She would definitely be an asset in case of a zombie apocalypse. We even remeet Emma and Michael from the first book. They made it out and away from the farmhouse, but they're definitely not out of danger.

Once again, we get a nonending. There's no "happily ever after," no epilogue, no grand event and that's why I love these books. It's like we're looking at one chapter of a greater saga. It leaves the ending open to the imagination or horror depending on your outlook.

An ad in the back of the book mentioned two other volumes in the series. I will have to do some research.

Autumn

#1 Autumn
#2 The City
#3 Purefaction
#4 The Human Condition
#5 Disintegration
#6 Aftermath

Autumn by David Moody

Title: Autumn (Autumn #1)

Author: David Moody

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books 2010

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 308

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Zombies: March Fantasy Month; A to Z Titles: A

A bastard hybrid of War of the Worlds and Night of the Living Dead, Autumn chronicles the struggle of a small group of survivors forced to contend with a world torn apart by a deadly disease. After 99% of the population of the planet is killed in less than 24 hours, for the very few who have managed to stay alive, things are about to get much worse. Animated by "phase two" of some unknown contagion, the dead begin to rise. At first slow, blind, dumb and lumbering, quickly the bodies regain their most basic senses and abilities... sight, hearing, locomotion... As well as the instinct toward aggression and violence. Held back only by the restraints of their rapidly decomposing flesh, the dead seem to have only one single goal - to lumber forth and destroy the sole remaining attraction in the silent, lifeless world: those who have survived the plague, who now find themselves outnumbered 1,000,000 to 1...
Without ever using the 'Z' word, Autumn offers a new perspective on the traditional zombie story. There's no flesh eating, no fast-moving corpses, no gore for gore's sake. Combining the atmosphere and tone of George Romero's classic living dead films with the attitude and awareness of 28 Days (and Weeks) later, this horrifying and suspenseful novel is filled with relentless cold, dark fear.

One day 99% of the world's population drops dead. A few days later, about a 1/3 of the dead get up and start walking around. Ahhh... the zombie apocalypse, my favorite genre. And this book was awesome!

Told from the viewpoint of a few survivors in a small English village, they struggle to understand and then make the next move. I liked that the book was told from a limited perspective. The reader and characters have no clue if this is a worldwide phenomena or just extends to the next village. Once three of the survivors leave the village, we don't know what happens to those remaining at the community center. We only find out later when Carl tries to go back. While the characters themselves are incredibly memorable, they represent more of archetypes. Examples for the reader of how people react in extreme circumstances. We don't need to remember to the specific character because we connect to their emotions, the struggle to live or not live in this new landscape.

The book is sufficiently scary. More with the constant threat of the "undead" than any immediate attacks. That would be the worst thing about the zombie apocalypse, the constant feelings of unease. You could never feel safe, even in a barricaded farmhouse.

Overall, a very good book. I guess the book was made into a movie a few years back and I saw it from Netflix. All I remember is watching about 15 minutes, getting fed up with the horrible sound and picture quality, and turning it off. Sorry to the filmmakers, but it was a dud. Thank goodness the book was awesome.

Autumn:

#1 Autumn
#2 The City
#3 Purification
#4 The Human Condition
#5 Disintegration
#6 Aftermath